Well I am 18 years old and I have had my '05 WRX from about a week and a half. It is an incredible piece of machinery! Since I am just starting out, and am on somewhat of a limited budget because of college saving, I have a few questions.
I read the mod list and the order to do everything in, and one of the first things it said to do is by a catback exhaust. I have been looking around, but don't know exactly what to look for when it comes to quality and affordability. I have found numerous different kinds and prices and it is all a bit confusing to me. Any suggestions?
Also, i was looking at intakes. Would this be another good first or second mod?
Thanks for reading.

best bang for the buck is always a school. being young you have an incredible advantage because you dont have any bad habits. you will drive your car harder, faster, and safer after you understand how the physics work then with any mod.

im 18 also....people are gonna hate me for saying this butt, on ebay you can get a cheap tbe for like 380 lol i know i know its cheap but....it gets the job done haha im gonna be disliked for saying this haha.. but i know how it is when money is tight....if you do any thing get a cobb ap first can't go cheap on EM...........and also get to know your car better befor upping the performance..........

best bang for the buck is always a school. being young you have an incredible advantage because you dont have any bad habits. you will drive your car harder, faster, and safer after you understand how the physics work then with any mod.

I respectfully disagree. I've been to numerous driving schools and have learned little to nothing when it comes to driving hard. We all know we're not gonna be professional drivers so why even pay the $2K to have some old dood tell me how to "take the proper line".

i would suggest going for small mods 1st that lets you getaway without having to go for those ecutek/opensource/piggyback or standalone ecus.
things like intake filters upgrade ,maybe a exhaust system upgrade depending on ## budget.or who knows even cosmetic upgrades?afterall u only got ## ride for such a period of time.
enjoy ## mods in stages.no point throwing big amt of money doing everything all go at one shot.the real enjoyment of the modding process is to go in stages.
do some bits and enjoy it for few mths and when ## thirst for power comes back again.go for abit more.dun touch major mods 1st as yet.cos when u start doing things like turbo, u have to mod many other things to compliment one another.and there ## pocket becomes lighter and u have to live on bread and butter.

First off welcome to the club. Second look into EM first. A CBE is more for sound and looks then power. The real restriction in the WRX exhaust setup is the DP, so yu can just change it and save some from getting the whole TBE. If you dont have the money, I know its frustrating, but just wait and save until you can get what you want.